THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509260097
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
A polite debate among candidates for Circuit Court clerk turned nasty last week when Republican Albert Teich snapped at Democrat Randy Wright after Wright made a joke at his expense, and then Wright responded by calling Teich a liar.
For 45 minutes, the four candidates kept the debate civil. They talked about the clerk's duties and salary. They touted their experience and qualifications. No candidate bad-mouthed another.
Then, on the last question of the night, Wright and Teich lit into each other.
The question: Do you have any physical impairments?
Ben Rogerson, 70, a retired police captain and independent candidate, said he works 10 to 12 hours a day at his private security business.
Teich, a 66-year-old lawyer, said he rides his bicycle three to five miles around his neighborhood.
Malcolm Gaines, 36, an independent candidate and owner of a construction company, said he was the youngest candidate and coaches youth football.
Wright, 49, a printer and city councilman, said he sometimes works 16 to 18 hours a day. Then he added, jokingly, that the only truthful thing Teich had said about him was calling him ``young man.''
Teich jumped up and angrily attacked his opponent.
``Mr. Wright,'' Teich said, ``am I a liar? . . . That was unfair.''
Wright shot back:
``I can show you letters and stuff that have absolute lies in it. My literature doesn't try to slander anybody.''
With that exchange, the debate at the Riverfront Civic League broke up.
This was the latest bit of nastiness to strike an election that, in most years, barely causes a ripple.
The clerk is an elected officer who supervises about 50 courthouse employees. The job pays $92,000 a year, and the term is eight years.
Mainly, the clerk keeps court records, including deeds, wills, marriage licenses, divorces, civil lawsuits and criminal actions. It is not a policy-making job.
This year, however, the election became highly partisan after City Councilman Randy Wright announced he wanted the job, forcing the retirement of incumbent Clerk of Court William Ryan, a fellow Democrat and a career clerk who has worked in the office 34 years.
The Republicans nominated Teich, a lawyer.
Since then, Teich has emphasized his 38 years of courthouse experience, while Wright has emphasized his years of public service, including the last three as councilman.
It has been a nasty campaign.
When Wright said in February that he wants the clerk to be more active in the community, like previous clerks Hugh Stovall and Billy Prieur, Teich and other Republicans accused Wright of trying to become a political boss.
In his campaign literature, Teich calls Wright ``a politician who wants a big fat pay raise.'' He also says that Wright ``has pledged to turn the Clerk's office into the master control center of his very own political machine.''
In turn, Wright complained last week that ``I've been persecuted for things I've never said or done.'' In his campaign literature, Wright does not even mention Teich.
The two also fought over how each got into the election.
At the forum, Wright said Democratic leaders asked him to run after Ryan announced his retirement. But Ryan says he decided to retire only after Wright became a candidate and forced a showdown at a Democratic meeting in February.
``No Democrat ever asked me if I was going to retire,'' Ryan said.
At the candidates' forum, Teich also explained how he became a candidate. He said several Republican leaders, including Sheriff Robert McCabe, asked him to run.
Wright challenged that version. He said McCabe never talked to Teich. But McCabe himself says Wright is wrong.
``I'm trying to stay out of this race,'' the sheriff said. ``But I did talk to Al Teich. I did tell him he'd be a fine candidate if he ran.''
Meanwhile, the two independent candidates - Rogerson and Gaines - agreed that Ryan is doing a good job and that his clerks should not be fired.
``He did a good job,'' Gaines said. ``Maybe some of the things the party did to him was unfair.''
Gaines said he is running because young people are sick of politics and government.
``I can help repair the broken political system and help restore hope in Norfolk,'' he said.
He added that the clerk's office should be free of politics.
``I'm not one for playing dirty politics. I detest it,'' Gaines said.
Rogerson said he has been in about 50 courts throughout Virginia, and Norfolk's court is among the top five.
``The people who are there are doing a good job,'' Rogerson said. He promised he would not purge the staff.
As a police captain, Rogerson said he supervised up to 250 people at one time, so he could manage 50 employees in the clerk's office.
A fifth candidate, independent Clyde Turner, did not attend the candidates' forum. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Republican Albert Teich
Democrat Randy Wright
Malcolm Gaines, independent
Ben Rogerson, independent
Randy Wright, Democrat
Albert Teich, Republican
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CIRCUIT COURT RACE ELECTION CANDIDATE by CNB